mclure (03/09/83)
#N:sri-unix:13200006:000:1825
sri-unix!mclure Feb 6 15:27:00 1983
I've been reading a lot of Silverberg lately and have some extremely
brief reviews (in descending order of preference):
DYING INSIDE (1972)
Marvelous. Excellent characterization. Somewhat self-pitying
story of a telepath losing his power. To many, this is
Silverberg's best. One of my ten favorite fiction books.
THE BOOK OF SKULLS (1972)
Interesting story of four young men in search of themselves
and the destructive course the search takes. Each chapter is
told from a personal viewpoint of one of them. Much of the
focus is on sexuality and preferences.
TOWER OF GLASS (1970)
Describes a fanatical and obsessive man's quest to communicate
with aliens across light-years by building a tachyon communicator
housed in a giant "tower of Babel" by using a mass of androids
subservient to society.
THE MAN IN THE MAZE (1969)
A man, formerly spurned by society because of certain alien
induced emanations from his mind, is recruited by Earth for
an important mission. They have to penetrate the maze-like
city he lives in on another planet.
TO LIVE AGAIN (1969)
Couldn't finish this one. It plodded on without too much
of a plot and too many characters. The story is about a future
where souls of dead people can be reimplanted in live people.
LORD VALENTINE'S CASTLE (1979)
Grossly over-bloated. Couldn't finish this one either. A
real disappointment. Normally Silverberg's books are tightly
knit and fast paced. This thing is a cumbersome story with
tiresome characters. There are simply too many big books/series
out there which try to create a big world with zany characters
and a simple quest. Boring.
Silverberg's best years are usually regarded as 1968-1972.
Stuart